The Kurgan Regional Court in Russia upheld a decision to acquit a former imam, Mr. Ali Yakupov, of charges of inciting hatred towards “Chinese communists.” The Prosecutor General alleged that, in November 2015, Mr. Yakupov left a comment on social media under a story about the prohibition on wearing hijabs in China in which he stated that Chinese communists would receive “divine punishment” for the prohibition. The Prosecutor General charged Mr. Yakupov with incitement of hatred toward a social group. Several courts acquitted Mr. Yakupov on the grounds that (i) calling on God to act could not be considered incitement, and (ii) the Prosecutor had failed to provide sufficient evidence of incitement to hatred or enmity. Global FoE could not identify official legal and government records on the case and information on the case was derived from secondary sources. Global FoE notes that media outlets may not provide complete information about this case. Additional information regarding legal matters will be updated as an official source becomes available.